San Francisco Giants: Why Tim Lincecum Is Struggling

Tim Lincecum suffered what was arguably the worst outing of his career on June 11, getting shelled by the Cincinnati Reds for seven earned runs while not being able to make it through the fifth inning. He struck out a career-low one batter.

The June 11 start was by far the worst of this season for the San Francisco Giants ace, but it wasn't the first sign of Lincecum struggling on the mound.

June hasn't been kind to Lincecum. On June 1, he gave up five earned runs in 6.1 innings in St. Louis.  On June 6, he gave up four earned runs in just five innings pitched against the Washington Nationals.

Then came Saturday's contest with the Reds at AT&T Park, which was reminiscent of the terrible starts that Lincecum had last August, a month in which he went 0-5 with a 7.82 ERA.

So, what accounts for this terrible stretch for one of the best pitchers in the game?

It's worth looking at some recent history to come up with a good guess.

In August 2010, Lincecum, as noted above, had the worst month of his career. Many observers cited his poor conditioning regimen and his inability to endure in extreme weather conditions, such as heat, as the culprit.

But another potential reason for Lincecum's difficulties during that month is that the man he was throwing to was no longer Bengie Molina, who he had been so comfortable with and who he had broken into the big leagues with in 2007.

The importance of a comfort and familiarity for pitchers when it comes to who they're throwing to cannot be overstated. It's the reason why so many pitchers have special catchers that start on days that they are on the mound, in place of the regular backstop.

Bengie Molina was traded by the Giants just before the trade deadline in July 2010. Rookie sensation Buster Posey then took over behind the plate and while Lincecum would return to his normal, dominating self in September, it appears that it took him a month or so to get used to not having Bengie behind the dish.

Fast-forward to June 2011.

Buster Posey was injured in a home plate collision that ended his season on May 25, and Eli Whiteside has since taken over the everyday catching duties.

Could this be the reason Lincecum is struggling this month?

It's very possible and if recent history is any indicator, look for Lincecum to bounce back and look more like his two-time Cy Young award-winning self.